Cheri Dixon: A Girl and Her Dog

I was scrolling through a social media the other day that had a cute little picture with the saying, No Pressure, No Diamonds…and it caught my eye. I think about how we really truly only grow when we are under pressure to make change or to adjust from something happening in our lives. And, being the type of girl I am, you should realize, I love a good diamond!

But, it wasn’t until I was out running this morning, getting myself back into runner’s shape after a very hot Houston summer, that I realized that this phrase really does relate to things in our every day lives, including small things like running. What happened was, as I finished mile 3 with a plan to run 5, I turned to the east and a gust of wind came up on me that actually had me stop for a second and think, do I really want to go any farther? You see, I am not sure if I am planning on my annual half marathon this year due to being a bit busy in life, but thought, ok, I will head out for a typical Sunday long run. But this wind made me really question did I need to battle the wind and push on, or should I just give in and head home to finish a workout inside.

You probably are thinking, dang…she’s giving up because of a breezy day…and no, I did not. I finished my run and actually welcomed the breeze, as the sun was still a bit intense as well. But, my point was more about how do we deal with pressure in our every day lives. Because, if we completely avoid it and give up, we will never see the benefits of the rewards of working through the uncomfortableness of it.

This lead me to think about my teaching staff as well…teaching is hard, which I have shared before, and I do not know of a day that an unexpected pressure came upon me that I may not have been prepared for. It could be a child who doesn’t follow the rules, or a parent who feels that we have done their child wrong, or just the occasional colleague that does not complete a task they were asked to do. These things can completely throw the day off…especially if we don’t handle them well. And we typically don’t handle them well when we are not equipped to deal with the pressures that come along with the every day life.

The CDC recommends the following ways to cope with chronic stress and pressures…which could be helpful for you.

• Balance home and work.
• Build in regular exercise.
• Eat well and limit alcohol and stimulants.
• Connect with supportive people.
• Carve out hobby time.
• Sleep enough.
• Practice mediation and yoga.
• Bond with your pet.
• Take a vacation.
• See a counselor, coach, or therapist.

I also truly believe that as we grow, we need to find ways to persevere when times get challenging. Learning how to push through times of uncomfortableness is hard. As humans, we never want to be uncomfortable…it is usually not a good feeling. But, what if we were able to control our uncomfortable? What if we were able to put ourselves in situations that cause us to experience a situation so that we could practice how we would handle the uncomfortable? I know as a mom, I learned that I needed to provide my own daughter with times where she could experience a “productive struggle” in life so she could learn how to handle these times of uncertainty and uncomfortableness and develop skills on how to manage them well.

Many of us deal with unexpected, or expected, pressures in our days. It is never feasible to think they are just going to go away. However, if we know they are coming, we build our own skills on how to handle them well and continue on in life reaching for our goals, and support each other on this challenging journey, maybe we all would handle the pressures better….and become the diamonds we are meant to be! I would love to hear from you on how you handle pressures in your lives and I hope, if this is an area you need some extra support, you reach out and see how I can help you be your best! Until next time! Cheri ❤️